Anyone But Harold, But How About Ogilvie? Vrdolyak Says

October 29, 1986|By Steve Neal, Political writer.

Ald. Edward Vrdolyak (10th), Cook County Democratic chairman, declared Tuesday that he would cross party lines to support former Gov. Richard Ogilvie, a Republican, over Democratic incumbent Harold Washington in the 1987 mayoral election.

``Party labels go out the window with Harold Washington,`` Vrdolyak said. ``I would support anyone in the entire universe against Harold.``

Vrdolyak also has reportedly encouraged former U.S. Atty. Dan Webb, another prospective Republican mayoral candidate, to consider making a City Hall bid. Democratic sources indicated that Ogilvie would be Vrdolyak`s top choice for the GOP nomination. Webb said he had not chatted with the Democratic chairman ``for about six months.``

At a press conference at Democratic headquarters, Vrdolyak acknowledged that he had recently conferred with Ogilvie, a former Republican governor, but declined to discuss details of their conversation.

Former Mayor Jane Byrne, whose 1987 comeback bid Vrdolyak is seeking to block, said Tuesday that, if elected mayor, she would push for Vrdolyak`s removal as party chairman. ``I`ve felt all along that we probably need a different chairman,`` Byrne said.

Washington, with whom Vrdolyak has been in a three-year power struggle, said he was surprised that ``the man who is supposed to be the custodian of the Cook County Democratic Party is touting a Republican candidate.``

Efforts to reach Ogilvie for comment were unsuccessful.

Even if Washington won renomination in the Democratic primary in February, Vrdolyak asserted that he would support Ogilvie in the April general election. ``Harold has denied this party too many times to get loyalty. He doesn`t want any, and he won`t get any,`` Vrdolyak said.

Vrdolyak predicted that Ogilvie would probably not run for mayor if Washington seeks re-election as an independent, which would all but assure that the black mayor would face two white opponents in the general election. Washington won by a narrow margin in the 1983 general mayoral election after gaining the Democratic nomination with slightly more than a third of the vote in a three-way primary.

The Democratic chairman, however, has suggested that Ogilvie would represent a formidable threat to Washington`s re-election in a one-on-one contest, if Washington edged out Jane Byrne in the Democratic primary.

Washington said Monday that he had already decided whether to run as an independent or to seek the Democratic nomination, but he declined to make his plans public. The mayor has described Ogilvie, who hasn`t won an election since 1968, as a loser in any mayoral bid. Washington also is threatening to make an issue of Ogilvie`s controversial 1983 letter to Northwest Side voters that indirectly raised the issue of race.

By promoting Ogilvie`s mayoral prospects, strategists in both political parties suggested that Vrdolyak was seeking to encourage Washington to bypass the February Democratic primary and to run for a second term as an independent. If Washington decides not to participate in the Democratic primary, Vrdolyak has vowed that Byrne will have competition for the nomination. Vrdolyak`s favorite candidate is himself. He recently launched a political action committee, called ``Save Chicago,`` and opened a half dozen campaign offices in ethnic neighborhoods in preparation for a possible mayoral bid.

Although Adlai Stevenson has complained that the 1987 mayoral maneuvering is overshadowing his Democratic Party backed gubernatorial candidacy, Vrdolyak said at the press conference that the Byrne-Washington-Ogilv ie speculation could help Stevenson`s chances by generating more interest in what he described as an otherwise dull election. Vrdolyak predicted Tuesday that Stevenson would carry Cook County by more than 250,000 votes and defeat Gov. James Thompson.

Meanwhile, Chicago Republican chairman Louis Kasper, a longtime Ogilvie political associate, continued his efforts to promote the former governor`s candidacy for mayor. Former Chicago Police Supt. James O`Grady, a former Democrat whose chances of upsetting Democratic Cook County Sheriff Richard Elrod next week are pegged to a strong Democratic crossover vote, was reportedly less than enthusiastic about Kasper`s attempt to launch an Ogilvie mayoral boomlet during the final week of the campaign.